CALGARY - Thomas Grandi's comeback fell short of his expectations and the veteran alpine skier has retired for the second time in less than two years.
The 36-year-old from Canmore, Alta., announced Monday that he will not race to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, just over eight months after saying it was the Olympics that had brought him out of retirement.
In 20 World Cup races this season, Grandi posted a result in just four and only once did he finish in the top 10.
He's no longer willing to make the kind of commitment it would take to be a medal contender in 2010, particularly when his wife Sara Renner a cross-country skier, is also racing towards 2010 and they have a young daughter.
"There were some moments where I did believe and think I was going to make it," Grandi said during a conference call. "The Olympics were always the real reason for me to come back.
"I was competitive in my team and there were days I was competitive on the World Cup, but it was that extra five or 10 per cent is the most difficult part to find. I just felt I couldn't get that last five or 10 per cent I needed to get me up that extra half a second that I needed.
"I don't regret my first retirement and I don't regret my comeback."
Grandi first retired in March 2007 and, after a season hiatus, returned to the World Cup circuit ranked 27th in slalom.
He finished this season ranked 44th and was surpassed on the Canadian team by other skiers such as Michael Janyk, a World Cup silver medallist in Beaver Creek, Colo.
"I was playing catch-up," Grandi said. "Having had a season off, I was missing training and miles on my skis.
"My rankings had slipped on my year off. I was trying to ski to my level before with a higher start number and at the same time I was chasing FIS races to try and improve my start numbers. It was a difficult situation to step into."
Grandi won nine career World Cup medals, including back-to-back victories in giant slalom races in Alta Badia, Italy and Flachau, Austria in 2004. He's competed in four Olympic Games.
Renner is an Olympic silver medallist and also raced the World Cup circuit this winter. They rarely saw each other as Grandi was in Europe from November to March.
"Things didn't pan out the way I hoped for in my schedule and my amount of flexibility," he said. "I haven't been around my family nearly enough.
"I do believe my making this choice, she is going to have a lot more help and she'll be able to focus a lot more on training and be better prepared. I do believe it's going to help and her chances."
